A poll commissioned and published by the daily Helsingin Sanomat indicates that the most popular combination in a new coalition government for Finland would be the SDP and the centre-right NCP, rounded out with participation by the Green League.
The survey of just over 1,000 voters found around a third in favour of an SDP-NCP core for government cooperation.
The next most popular combinations would be the SDP and the Centre Party, and the SDP plus the Finns Party. Both of these options were backed by about one-fifth of respondents to the poll.
The process of government formation is being led by the SDP. The deadline for answers from the various parties to a list of policy questions from SDP chair Antti Rinne is Tuesday.
Actual talks on putting together a cabinet are scheduled to begin next week.
Helsingin Sanomat points out that the most popular combination in its poll, the SDP-NCP option is also the most likely. The SDP came out of the recent parliamentary elections in first place while the NCP retained its position in third.
These two parties, according the Helsingin Sanomat, are close on issues such as social services and health care, social security, the climate, and asylum policy.
However, they have different goals in economic affairs. Helsingin Sanomat writes that according to the information it has acquired, the two parties views on taxation would be a difficult mix.
The paper points out that the option of a SDP-Centre-led coalition is possible only if the Centre Party is interested in joining the government. Following its big election loss, a number of its most influential members think it belongs in opposition.
As for a SDP-Finns Party-led cabinet, Helsingin Sanomat points out that this would be hard, as a number of parties have announced they will not cooperate with the Finns Party.
Regardless of which two parties form the core of a new government, they will need the inclusion of smaller parties in order to control a majority in parliament. And, for all the possible combinations, the inclusion of the Greens was the most popular choice in this poll.
Centre response
Oulu's Kaleva is among the papers today reporting the Centre Party's responses to a series of policy questions that may determine whether or not it could be a good fit in an SDP-led cabinet.
Two of the key issues, according to Kaleva, are the party's call for an overhaul of Finland's parental leave system, and demands that taxes are not increased for entrepreneurs or corporations.
The Centre Party stated that continuing positive development in the economy and employment requires that the next government makes commitments to a target of a 75 percent rate of employment and to balancing public finances by 2023.
The paper quotes the chair of the Centre's parliamentary group, Antti Kaikkonen, as saying that the threshold to the Centre Party's participation in a new government is, however, a high one.
Prison violence
Top officials at Finland's Criminal Sanctions Agency, the authority that operates the nation's prisons, say they are concerned about the deteriorating security situation behind bars, according to an article in Tuesday's Turun Sanomat.
This follows a report on Sunday by the news syndicate Lännen Media that an organised crime group, United Brotherhood, is running an extensive drug trafficking operation in Finland's prisons, leading to an escalation of violence.
Criminal Sanctions Agency Development Manager Pauli Nieminen is quoted as saying that officials have been working to root out the problem with all the means at their disposal, but that "It's a different matter whether or not we have been successful enough."
However, Nieminen denied that the situation is out of control, saying that it has been more a matter of isolated incidents.
The director of Riihimäki prison, Pasi Oksa, told the paper that it is often forgotten that the prisons have a crime prevention function.
"Prisons are not, however, [sealed] bottles. Criminal acts, threats, extortion, and running gangs out of prisons are things we cannot ever completely eliminate. But, what we can do is to try to make it as difficult as possible," stated Oksa.
Risky party trick
Colourful helium-filled balloons are as much a part of the May Day celebrations in Finland as are student caps, picnics, and the Finnish take on mead known as sima.
And, once in a party mood, for some people it's hard to resist inhaling some of that helium in order to speak in a funny, squeaky "Donald Duck" voice.
But, seriously, don't do it. It can be fatal, writes Ilta-Sanomat.
The paper reports on a press release from the Aga gas company pointing out that while helium is not poisonous, when inhaled it displaces oxygen in the lungs, lowering or at worst blocking oxygen intake.
The gas can inhibit breathing reflexes, and just a few breaths of it can lead to suffocation and loss of consciousness.
Ilta-Sanomat says that in such a case, check to see if the person is breathing, start first aid measures, phone the emergency centre and follow their instructions.